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Explaining Nevada's new Tampa 2 defensive scheme and why it could succeed or fail

The Tampa 2 defensive scheme started in the 1970s with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ historic Steel Curtain, formed by head coach Chuck Noll and defensive coordinator Bud Carson.

It then traveled to Minnesota in the 1980s when Tony Dungy, who played in Pittsburgh under Noll, teamed with Monte Kiffin and tinkered with the scheme as assistants with the Vikings.

The next stop was Tampa Bay in the 1990s, where the defense got its name. From there, its tentacles branched across the country to the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. The scheme reached the college level, hitting USC, North Dakota State and several other schools. It has finally arrived in Reno.

For the first time in program history, the Wolf Pack’s base defense will be the Tampa 2, a scheme that’s “as old as organized football,” as Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber once joked. So, why the Tampa 2, which has waned in popularity in recent years? And can the scheme fix Nevada’s broken defense?

“It started to make a lot of sense when you looked at who we are and what we can recruit,” said Nevada coach Brian Polian, who learned about the scheme from Dungy after his father, Bill, hired him to run the Colts. “You can’t play a 3-4 here because you need a 340-pound nose tackle and that guy is hard to find. He’s hard to find in the SEC, let alone the Mountain West. This scheme fits what we’re able to recruit.”

In a nutshell, the Tampa 2, a scheme that will help define Nevada’s 2013 season and Polian’s tenure, is a zone coverage. It emphasizes speed, not strength. It’s fairly simple to learn. It rarely features blitzes and requires the front four to get a dominant pass rush. It’s a bend-but-don’t-break scheme. When run correctly, it limits big plays (Nevada’s long-time bugaboo) and creates turnovers (a Wolf Pack weak point).

“The whole theory is that the Tampa 2 is built on speed and it’s a simple system,” Polian said. “It’s not really complicated. Size is not a prerequisite. It’s all about running and getting to the football.”

The man in charge of bringing the defense to Nevada is coordinator Scottie Hazelton, who learned the system at North Dakota State from Bison head coach Craig Bohl, who has won back-to-back FCS titles, and Gus Bradley, who has worked his way up the chain to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach.

When Polian was looking to hire a defensive coordinator, he didn’t have a specific scheme in mind. Minutes after his interview with Hazelton started, Polian knew he had his man and his scheme.

Nevada’s defense over the past decade has been known for giving up big, game-changing plays. Last year, the team ran a cover 4 scheme with man principles. One busted coverage and big plays followed.

One of the Tampa 2’s strengths is its ability to eliminate big plays. The defense might give up a 7-yard run or 9-yard pass, but typically won’t break apart for a 50-yard touchdown. It makes teams earn their points.

“In a 15-play drive, the idea is that we’ll make a play at some point or they’ll mess up,” Hazelton said. “Then we get the advantage. If the offense is patient enough to take 15 plays and not mess up, more power to them. The whole idea is to give up yards and not points and get the ball back to the offense.”

The two biggest keys in this defense is the ability of the defensive front to get a consistent and heavy pass rush and the play of the middle linebacker, who plays a key role in the scheme. Nevada, which allowed 33.7 points per game in 2012, returns its entire defensive line, which excites Hazelton.

“In the Tampa 2, the defensive line is very important and we have a good one,” Hazelton said

The scheme has helped make starts out of players like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Bob Sanders. But, in recent years, it has fallen out of favor, with more mobile quarterbacks and a quicker tempo of play sometimes giving the scheme some issues.

Only a couple of NFL teams still run the Tampa 2. At the college level, mid-major teams like Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State have successfully gone to a three down lineman front (the Tampa 2 runs a four-man front). Wisconsin and San Jose State also are moving to a three-man front in 2013.

Still, Polian and Hazelton are confident the Tampa 2 will succeed. The Wolf Pack players, especially the defensive line, have raved about the new system, how easy it’s been to pick up and its potential.

“I like it a lot,” defensive end Brock Hekking said. “This is a go-get-it defense.”

Nevada's inability to build a solid defense is somewhat puzzling. Ten former Wolf Pack defensive players are in NFL training camps this summer. Some good defensive talent has streamed through Reno in recent years, but the production has never measured up. It's either been a scheme issue or a coaching issue.

With 40 years of experienced, the Tampa 2 is still around and kicking. It’s been successful at most of its stops, but like any defense it has some weaknesses and isn’t perfect.

“At some places they’ve had a lot of success and at some places people have been fired,” Hazelton said.

Wolf Pack fans better hope this is one of the success stories or the search for a formula to fix the Nevada defense will march on.

THE TAMPA 2 POSITION BY POSITION

Defensive ends: These guys must get a pass rush on the quarterback or its game over since you don’t see a lot of Tampa 2 blitzes. The Colts’ Dwight Freeney and Reggie Mathis were ideal Tampa 2 ends.

Nose tackle: In this scheme, you can get by without a massive body at nose tackle as long as the player is quick. In the original Tampa 2 (Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain), this spot was filled by Mean Joe Greene.

Defensive tackle: The tackle gets to be aggressive as opposed to just holding offensive linemen up so the linebackers can make plays. Warren Sapp played this position in Tony Dungy’s Tampa 2 en route to the Hall of Fame.

Will “Wolf” Linebacker: The weakside linebacker must be strong, fast and physical. He has a lot of chances to make plays in the defense. Derrick Brooks is the model Tampa 2 weakside linebacker.

Mike Linebacker: The middle backer must be athletic, versatility and good in coverage. He’s responsible for covering deep seam routes (if there is one) or rallying to the ball-carrier on runs or short receptions.

Sam Linebacker: The strongside backer is typically a smaller, faster player who excels in coverage. He’s almost like a safety and must have a good motor, be good in coverage and create turnovers.

Cornerbacks: The cornerbacks must be good in zone coverage rather than relying on playing man. They must get good jams at the line of scrimmage and force running backs to the middle of the field.

Safeties: The safeties are responsible for the deep halves of the field. They must have good player recognition (see who’s entering their zone) and be play-makers ala John Lynch or Bob Sanders.

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at cmurray@rgj.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.